Archive Category: 'Homemade Cleaners'

• Winter Detox: 12 Easy DIY Air Fresheners: Banish stale odors and beat the winter blues by freshening your home with scents of summery citrus, herbs & spices. Here are 12 easy DIY air fresheners that can help make that happen… 12 Easy DIY Air Fresheners Fragrance Bowls: Fill large decorative bowls with clean sand then top with citrus peelings, homemade potpourri, cinnamon sticks and [...]
• How To Remove Rust Stains: {Recipes & Tips}: Have a rust stain problem that you want to get rid of? Here are a variety of methods for removing stains from clothing/laundry, carpets, toilets & sinks, and a couple old recipes I found for removing rust from metal. Homemade Rust Remover Recipes & Tips Cream of Tartar & Hydrogen Peroxide: Mix together to make a [...]
• Vacuum Bag Sachet Fresheners: How-To: Slip these fragrant sachets into your vacuum bag and enjoy the pleasant fragrance when you vacuum the floor. They’re easy to make using just a few simple ingredients and best part is: they don’t make a mess! How To Make Vacuum Bag Sachets Ingredients: 1/4 cup dried lavender* 1/4 cup dried rosemary* 1 TBS cloves* 1/2 cup cedar shavings 1 TBS baking [...]
• Homemade Carpet Cleaner: Recipe: Here’s an easy and natural way to clean stains from your carpet and brighten them up, just a few simple ingredients are needed! Ingredients: 2 tsp eucalyptus oil 2 tsp glycerine 2 TBS vinegar 2 TBS bicarbonate soda 2 TBS methylated spirits Directions: Pour all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well to mix. For spot cleaning: Spray stain and rub clean with [...]
• Homemade Cleaners For The Bathroom {Peppermint}: Homemade Peppermint Shower Scrub 1 cup baking soda 1/4 tsp peppermint essential oil Mix the ingredients then store in a glass mason jar. To use: Sprinkle on a wet sponge and scrub bath and shower walls. Rinse off with water. All-Purpose Cleaner 1 cup distilled water 1/2 cup household vinegar 1/2 tsp liquid castille soap 1/4 tsp Peppermint essential oil Mix ingredients in a spray [...]
• Tips For Cleaning Laminate Floors: We recently had gorgeous laminate flooring installed in our living room and I just had to ask the flooring expert (our installer) what he recommended for cleaning it. Although laminate is much easier to care for than real wood flooring and I’ve had it for years in other parts of the house, I want to [...]
• Homemade Dish Detergent: Recipes: Today’s feature is from DIY Life with How To Make Your Own Dish Soap: Making your own dish soap is a great for so many reasons. Homemade soaps tend to not dry out your skin and they work well for people who are allergic to commercial cleaners. But, my favorite perk is that you save money [...]
• Grout Cleaning Tips & Recipes: Some of the recipes & cleaning solutions below contain ammonia, or bleach, or vinegar (I’ve also included other homemade cleaners that are gentler to use). There are some who claim that these items will degrade grout over time–what that amount of time is I don’t know (5 years? 50 years?) or that they may affect [...]
• Salt Packed Citrus Shells: DIY Air Freshener: Here’s a neat tip sent in by Paulina for one of the most natural and easiest to make air fresheners I’ve come across yet… I picked this tip up from a local newspaper some years ago and I’ve been using it ever since, I just love the smell of oranges: Cut an orange in half and remove [...]
• Freshen Your Home With Eucalyptus: Recipes: Eucalyptus is one of mother nature’s most powerful disinfectants, what better option to clean with! Here are a few different homemade cleaners I have on file that incorporate Eucalyptus oil and can be used to freshen and clean your home, just in time for Spring Cleaning. Floor Cleaner Add 1 tablespoon of liquid castile soap to 1 gallon [...]
• 10 Ways Herbs Can Freshen Your Home: Spring cleaning is in full swing this time of year, here are ten ways you can use herbs around the house to perk things up… 10 Ways Herbs Can Freshen Up Your Home Homemade Herbal Carpet Freshener Recipe: I like to use dried lavender, but I included other herbal mixes to try as well. This makes a [...]
• Homemade Granite & Marble Cleaner: Here’s a recipe for an earth-friendly “green” cleaner suitable for many household surfaces including granite and marble. Ingredients: 2 cups water 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar 1 tsp pure castile soap (peppermint, etc.) 3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide 20 drops tea tree oil 20 drops lavender or lemongrass essential oil. Directions: Mix all ingredients in a 32-ounce plastic spray bottle. Cleaner can be used to clean [...]
• Homemade Laundry Detergent FAQ: Two years ago (January, 2007) I published an extensive list of homemade laundry detergent recipes (see 10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes) and it’s been one of the most popular and commented on tips posted here. I’m proud to say it’s one of the most informative resources available on the net for making homemade detergent [...]
• Homemade Oven Cleaner Recipes: With the exception of one of the recipes below, you can make oven cleaners that are much safer for the environment than commercial oven cleaners containing harsh chemicals. They’re also much more frugal! Homemade Oven Cleaner Recipes Recipe #1 Baking Soda Water Dish Detergent Directions: Fill a spray bottle with water and spray oven generously. Generously sprinkle baking soda over the water. Leave [...]
• 10 Alternative Household Cleansers: Today’s feature is from Woman’s Day with 10 Alternative Household Cleansers: We’ve discovered ways to clean everything in your home with natural items you already have on hand. From vinegar to toothpaste, read on to learn how you can use these safe, inexpensive items to make your house shine. You’ll find recipes and tips for how to [...]
• Homemade Window Cleaner Recipes & Tips: Recipe #1 2 cups rubbing alcohol (70 percent isopropyl) 1/2 cup ammonia 1 tsp dish detergent (liquid) top with water until you have 1 gallon of window cleaner Recipe #2 2 cups water 3 TBS vinegar 1/2 tsp dish detergent (liquid) Recipe #3 1 gallon water 1/4 cup vinegar 1 tsp dish detergent (liquid) Recipe #4 1 gallon water 1/4 cup vinegar 2 TBS lemon juice squirt dish detergent (liquid) Recipe #5 1/2 cup [...]
• Homemade Laundry Stain Pretreater Recipes: Frugal Laundry Soap – Pretreater Save pieces and leftover slivers of bar soaps and collect in a jar. Those little hotel soaps are ideal for this too (cut them down to small pieces). When jar is filled half way with soap chunks, add boiling water. Mix soap bits and water until soap is melted. Once cooled this will [...]
• Grime Busters For Outside: 8 Quick Tips: Mechanical Grease Hand Cleaner: Drizzle some olive or vegetable oil over dirty hands that are covered in grease (from vehicle repairs, mechanical parts, etc.). Work the oil in a bit by rubbing it all over then wash hands in hot soapy water as usual. The grease will wash away much easier. Tree Sap & Tar Remover: [...]
• How To Turn Bacon Grease Into Soap (Really!): Today’s feature is from Little House In The Suburbs with a tutorial for Making Soap from Kitchen Grease: If you’re saying to yourself, “Ivory, I don’t wanna to BUY fat to make my soap. I have plenty of fat in my grease can!” then this is the post for you. So, how do we turn icky, blech-y, [...]
• Vanilla & Cloves Air Freshener Spray – Recipe: Ingredients 1 cup water 1 cup household vinegar 1 TBS vanilla extract 1 tsp cloves Directions Bring all ingredients to a boil then simmer over medium heat for two minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain cloves then pour liquid into spray bottle, shake and use as needed. Note: You can increase/decrease the vanilla & cloves amounts to your preference. More Homemade [...]
• Homemade Makeup Brush Cleaners: 7 Recipes: Recipe #1 1 cup Distilled Water 2 TBS Rubbing Alcohol 1 TBS Baby Shampoo Recipe #2 1/2 cup Warm Water 1/4 cup Vinegar Recipe #3 1 cup Warm Water 1 tsp Liquid Castile Soap Recipe #4 1 cup Warm Water 1 TBS Baby Shampoo Recipe #5 1/4 cup Warm Water 1 TBS Woolite Recipe #6 1 cup Warm Water 1 TBS Liquid Dish Detergent Recipe #7 1 cup Warm Water 1 TBS Baby Shampoo 1/2 tsp Tea [...]
• Homekeeping – A Natural Shine To Cleaning (Recipes): Here’s a tip list of over a dozen natural cleaning recipes I compiled from an article published in the first issue of Martha Stewart’s magazine (Martha Stewart Living, Winter 1990). I went through a slight obsession years ago to own each and every Martha Stewart Living magazine, this picture is a scan of my copy of [...]
• Homemade Lavender Water Recipes: Lavender water can be used in a variety of ways around the house. Some ideas: When washing bedding and linens, add some lavender water to the rinse cycle. Your bedding will have a light lavender scent (lavender helps those with sleep problems). Use when ironing, spritz a bit of the lavender water on the items being ironed. [...]
• DIY & Homemade Wrinkle Release Tips: If you don’t have any Downy Wrinkle Releaser close by or would like to try a homemade alternative, here are some tips for unwrinkling your clothes. These come in handy while traveling and you forgot to pack your iron. Homemade Wrinkle Release Spray Ingredients: 1 tsp fabric softener (liquid) 1 cup water (distilled is best) Directions: Mix the water and the fabric [...]
• Homemade Travel Hand Wipes: Materials Needed: 1/4 cup vodka 1/4 cup water Juice from 1/2 lemon Paper Towels (use a thick, sturdy towel) Large Ziploc Bag Directions: Fold the paper towels in half and lay them in a shallow dish in a single layer. Mix the liquid ingredients together then pour over top the towels. Repeat as needed until you have the amount of wipes you require. Stack [...]